The 20th day of the Counting of the Omer begins on Sunday night. Tonight we count two weeks and six days of the Omer. This is also Yom HaZikaron, the day that Israel remembers its fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.

This is the day of Yesod within Tiferet, connection within balance. On this day, I think about how my connections to others – family, community and beyond – contribute to my sense of balance and wellbeing in life. I think about how each relationship in my life is a sacred trust. Living up to the obligations of each sacred relationship is not always easy. Sometimes it is very challenging, indeed. But the work of maintaining and nurturing my relationships is exactly what I need to grow as a person to find balance in my life.

In Israel today, sirens sound throughout the country to mark a moment to remember the fallen. As in past years, traffic will stop, people will stand silently, and every single Israeli will remember relatives, friends, school classmates, neighbors, and comrades in arms who have died in one of the nation's many conflicts. For Israelis, this certainly is a day to recall how the Jewish state has survived only by the loyalty, connection, and group identity that binds one Israeli to another in a sacred trust. That connection is the foundation that makes a disparate society into a unified whole.

On this 20th day of the Counting of the Omer, I commit to building relationships of trust that have foundations in respect, not in domination, and in love, not in fear. By bringing such balance into my relationships, I strive to bring balance into my life.

May this be a day in which you find your own most radiant and beautiful self in the way that you build radiant and beautiful relationships with others.

Welcome

This blog is about living a joyful Jewish life and bringing joy to synagogues and the Jewish community. Join the conversation by commenting on posts and sharing your experiences. For more on the topic, read the First Post.